Package for pills and like articles



Sept. 21, 1965 c. SPARKS 3,207,299

PACKAGE FOR PILLS AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed March 4, 1964 OPEN T'msl SIDE BEND BACK 1 AT LlNE--r--RIP PAPER INVENTOR 'emyeidfar/ff WM/K {Mi ATTORNEY 7 patient.

United States Patent 3,207,299 PACKAGE FOR PILLS AND LIKE ARTICLES George C. Sparks, 101 Rorer St., Erdenheim, Pa. Filed Mar. 4, 1964, Ser. No. 349,292- 7 Claims. (Cl. 206-42) for shelf life, while permitting of easy opening by the It is also essential that each package carry certain printed matter, such as control number and expiration date, as required by regulations.

Accordingly, it is an important object of the present invention to provide a capsule package of the type described which fully accomplishes these requirements, affording substantial mechanical protection, as Well as moisture-vapor protection producing at least one-year shelf life.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a package for capsules and the like which affords nearly complete visual access to the capsules without opening of the package, and which permits of quick and easy opening with minimum effort.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a package having the advantageous characteristics mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, which is extremely simple in construction, economical in manufacture, and which is adapted to carry permanently imprinted the required indicia without detracting from visibility of the contents and the other advantageous features mentioned above.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a material part of this disclosure.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope will be indicated by the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan View showing a package constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view of the package of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a transverse sectional view taken generally along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a generally horizontal sectional view taken substantially along the line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal elevational sectional view taken generally along the line 55 of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational view illustrating the opening procedure of the instant package.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and specifically to FIGURES 1-5 thereof, the package is there generally designated 10 and includes a front member 11 and back member 12.

The front member 11 is advantageously integrally fabricated of stiff flexible, moisture-vapor-proof plastic sheet material, as by vacuum forming, and includes a hollow ice dished receptacle, cup portion or pod 15 having its back side open and provided about the open side with an external peripherally extending flange 16. The dished portion or receptacle 15 is externally convex and internally concave, and specifically configured to conformably receive a pair of capsules 17, or like articles. As received in the receptacle 15, the capsules 17 are disposed in adjacent relation, in the illustrated embodiment being of elongate configuration and arranged in end-to-end adjacent, spaced relation. The receptacle 15 is configured to conformably receive the capsules 17, including upstanding side walls 18, end walls 19, and a top wall 20. The upstanding end walls 19 may be rounded conformable to the ends of capsules 17; and, medial regions 21 of the side walls 18 may be slightly indented conformable to the adjacent ends of the capsules and serving to maintain the latter in their adjacent spaced relation.

The top wall 20 may be advantageously formed with any required indicia, such as the characters shown in FIGURE 1 and employed in conjunction with medicines to indicate batch control and expiration. The interior of the receptacle 15 is of a height approximating the thickness of the capsules 17; and, as the entire top member 11 is preferably fabricated of transparent plastic, the capsules are substantially completely visible through the top member, as will appear more fully hereinafter.

For permanence and so as not to obscure visibility of the contents, the transparent plastic sheet of top member 11 may have the top wall 20 formed with markings embossed or impressed in the material of the top wall, as in vacuum forming, or the like.

The flange 16 extends outward from the lower open side of the receptacle 15, peripherally thereabout, and is substantially flat or planar, so that the entire top member 11 readily lends itself to vacuum-forming technique, as of thermoplastic or heat-scalable material.

The back member 12 is substantially flat and extends entirely across the lower open side of the receptacle 15, being secured in facing engagement with the lower or underside of the flange 16, so as to define a cover sheet closing the open side of the receptacle. In particular, the back member or cover sheet 12 may include a lower or outer layer of paper 25, which is laminated to an intermediate layer of foil 26, such as aluminum foil. On the inner or upper surface of the aluminum foil is preferably a coating of heat-sealable plastic material 27, such as polyethylene, or the like. This sandwich or lamination of paper 25, foil 26 and thermoplastic coating 27 is initially substantially fiat, and flexible and rupturable, as will appear presently. The inner layer or coating 27 is secured in facing engagement with the undersurface of flange 26, as by heat sealing, or the like, so that the top and bottom members 11 and 12 combine to define a moisture-vaporproof enclosure protectively containing the capsules 17.

On the outer or under surface of the cover sheet 12, the paper layer 25, may be imprinted appropriate opening instructions, as shown in FIGURE 2. The opening procedure is further illustrated in FIGURE 6. It will there be observed that upon bending of the package 10 about an axis extending between the capsules 17, as along the line 29 in FIGURE 2, to swing toward each other the protruding receptacle portions containing respective capsules, that the capsules are displaced against the rupturable cover sheet 12 and automatically tear through the latter. Viewed otherwise, as the receptacle 15 is disposed on one side of the flange 16, and as the flange is bent tending to move the receptacle end portions toward each other, the articles contained in the receptacle are necessarily displaced outward through the rupturable back member or cover sheet 12. The capsules may be readily removed from the package for use.

From the foregoing, it is seen that the present invention provides a package for capsules and like articles which fully accomplishes its intended objects and is well adapted to meet practical conditions of manufacture, distribution and use.

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be made Within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

'1. A package for pills and like articles, said package comprising a receptacle having one side open configured and conformably receiving articles in adjacent relation, the receptacle walls being indented maintaining said received articles in spaced relation, a flange extending about the open side of said receptacle, said receptacle and flange being fabricated of stiff flexible material, and a rupturable cover sheet extending across the open side of said receptacle and secured to said flange, said flange being bendable at a location between said received articles to crush said receptacle against itself and effect displacement of the articles against said cover sheet to rupture the latter.

2. A package according to claim '1, said receptacle and flange being integral and of formable sheet plastic.

3. A package according to claim 1, said receptacle and flange being integral and of moisture-vapor-proof scalable plastic.

4. A package according to claim 3, said cover sheet being of flexible plastic-coated moisture-vapor-proof foil and sealed to said flange.

5. A package for pills and like articles, said package comprising a single dished receptacle fabricated of stiff flexible sheet material configured and conformably receiving a pair of articles in adjacent relation, said receptacle having one side open and a medial portion of said receptacle being reduced maintaining said received articles in spaced relation, a generally flat stiff flexible flange extending externally about the open side of said receptacle, and a flat cover sheet extending across the open side of said receptacle in closing relation therewith and peripherally secured in facing relation with said flange, said cover sheet being of flexible rupturable material, bending of the flange and the medial portion of said receptacle between said received articles serving to crush the receptacle against itself and displace the articles against said cover sheet to rupture the latter.

6. A package according to claim 5, said receptacle and flange being integrally formed of moisture-vaporproof sealable sheet plastic, and said cover sheet being of plastic-coated moisture-vapor-proof foil and sealed to said flange.

7. A package according to claim 5, said receptacle being of transparent formable sheet plastic for carrying embossed indicia and aflording visability of said articles.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,078,227 4/37 Blurn 20656 2,560,535 7/51 Allen 22962 2,892,538 6/59 Middleton 206-43 2,927,689 3/60 Look 206-63.2 2,968,396 1/61 Pratt 206-63.2 3,075,639 1/63 Lingley 20643 3,176,743 4/65 Bundy -34 FOREIGN PATENTS 613,023 1/61 Canada.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. 

1. A PACKAGE FOR PILLS AND LIKE ARTICLES, SAID PACKAGE COMPRISING A RECEPTACLE HAVING ONE SIDE OPEN CONFIGURED AND CONFORMABLY RECEIVING ARTICLES IN ADJACENT RELATION THE RECEPTACLE WALLS BEING INDENTED MAINTAINING SAID RECEIVED ARTICLES IN SPACED RELATION, A FLANGE EXTENDING ABOUT THE OPEN SIDE OF SAID RECEPTACLE, SAID RECEPTACLE AND FLANGE BEING FABRICATED OF STIFF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL, AND A RUPTURABLE COVER SHEET EXTENDING ACROSS THE OPEN SIDE OF SAID RECEPTACLE AND SECURED TO SAID FLANGE, SAID FLANGE BEING BENDABLE AT A LOCATION BETWEEN SAID RECEIVED ARTICLES TO CRUSDH SAID RECEPTACLE AGAINST ITSELF AND EFFECT DISPLACEMENT OF THE ARTICLES AGAINST SAID COVER SHEET TO RUPTURE THE LATTER. 